


Daddy Day

by RainbowPixieCat



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Baby, Domestic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 09:31:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14787942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowPixieCat/pseuds/RainbowPixieCat
Summary: Cronus gets to spend a day with his and Kankri's 5 month old grub, Crokri.





	Daddy Day

It was a bright, warm summer’s day in Newflower City and in the neighbourhood suburbs around it. Winter was long gone and summer had been led in with a delightfully gentle spring that slowly grew warmer until it gave way to hotter days. Kankri had fully healed in just over six weeks and even though he loved having time off as maternity leave, he missed the social environment of work and working. Kankri often worked from home, doing digital art and writing commissions for people who wanted characters or fan art. He also wrote and sold e-books under a pen name and he liked to work part time at the local library too. He sometimes volunteered there, putting away materials or helping people find information. 

Today he was working all day and Cronus was on his week off, leaving their very young troll grub with his father. Crokri was about 5 months old and still needed lots of care and one on one time. Cronus didn’t mind though. He always felt a little out of his depth when it came to taking care of their son since he thought Kankri was such a wonderful mother. But Cronus loved Crokri and he always tried to do his best, even if he did get some things wrong and make mistakes. Cronus affectionately called their time together Daddy Days. Today he was having a daddy day with their little grub. Kankri had gotten Crokri up and ready then made everyone breakfast that morning. Cronus had spoon-fed Crokri his grub porridge cereal while Kankri busied himself getting ready for work. And then Kankri had given them both a goodbye kiss and hurried out the door to his car, which was a much smaller and more fuel efficient one than Cronus’ vintage 1960s cherry Cadillac. After that, things had gotten exceptionally quiet, besides the gentle susurrus of their air con keeping the house cool. With it being such a lovely summer’s day, Cronus decided to set up the new interactive paddling pool outside that they had recently bought for Crokri, at Kankri’s insistence that such beautiful days shouldn’t be wasted and that it was good for Crokri to spend time outside in the fresh air instead of inside all the time. Cronus heartily agreed, and had fun trying to get the fancy inflatable pool out of its box and set up. He tried blowing it up manually at first, before realising it came with an electric pump. Things went more smoothly after that. Crokri was curious; watching everything from the colourful playpen Cronus and Kankri had set up on the lawn under the awning for him. The candy red grub paused playing with his toys every so often to stare and make cute noises at what was going on, flapping his little ear fins and making his gills flutter. He even sat up on his hindquarters and put his grub legs to the bars, chirping and clicking cutely at his dad along with gibberish baby babble “Da-da-da-da!”

Cronus was grinning as he watched it blow up, slowly taking on the form of a bright coloured play gym. “Yeah little buddy, it’ll be ready soon. I knowv you vwanna play. Hold on just a vwee bit longer” he chuckled, turning his attention back to the pool. It had an arch over the back part of the pool, leaving a shady area for the littles to play out of the sun, and beside that was a water slide down one side that looked really big for Crokri and ended in the main part of the pool. This was an open air area with soft plastic rims on the sides for lightweight plastic balls to roll down, and a hoop in the middle front area, held by a blow up dolphin. There was another thin arch over a part of the main pool that sprinkled a small spray of water from above. Another part of the pool was a three walled area with a bouncy floor and gentle little sprinklers of water coming out the bottom sides. Needless to say, the contraption was ridiculously expensive, but it would last Crokri from grubhood to wigglerhood and into his early kit years plus elementary years so it was worth the cost for the number of years of fun they’d get out of it. And of course, for if they had any more kids. 

Cronus tested the inflated pool play centre, pressing on the durable rubbery casing, which was made of tougher stuff with sharp troll claws and teeth in mind. It bounced back firmly under his fingers so he knew it was ready. “Looks like it’s ready!” he commented brightly to his son. He disconnected the pump and turned to the two other boxes on the outdoor picnic table. Kankri had bought a supply of swim diapers and a small bag of floating pool toys and pool balls. Cronus ripped them open, unpacking the toys first. He grabbed the hose and turned it on, leaving it in the pool as it started filling it up with water. The water was coming out hot at first from the hose being in the sun but it soon started dispensing cool water once the warmed stuff was flushed out. Crokri, meanwhile, had no understanding of lengths of time and had no idea what was really happening, so he started crying impatiently, pulling, pushing and hitting the bars of his playpen as he cried loudly. He wanted to see what this colourful, exciting new toy was! Red tinted tears streamed down his chubby light grey cheeks as his cries filled the air, going up and down in volume. 

“All right, all right, shh shh shh, it’s comin’, it’s comin’” Cronus cooed reassuringly, putting down the box of swim diapers and walking to the side of the playpen. He bent down and picked Crokri up, bringing him up to his chest to pat and cuddle. “Shhhh. I knowv you’re excited baby. Howv’s about vwe get you into one a these Findin’ Nemo diapers your mama bought, huh?” he spoke to him and rubbed his back, pacing back and forth while light red tears, spit and snot soaked into his tee shirt.

Crokri started to calm down a bit after a couple of minutes. His cries got softer and his tears stopped, though his voice still wailed in a feeble attempt to show he was still a bit unhappy. Cronus laid him down on a folded swimming towel on the outdoor table and started to take off his slightly damp morning diaper that Kankri had put him in this morning. He picked up a blue swim diaper with Nemo on it and slipped it onto Crokri’s bottom half, poking his tail through the slit in the back. These ones were made specifically for sea dweller grubs, which meant they accounted for the finny tail all aquatic grubs had. “There ya go, doll. You’re all fitted out ready to go. Let’s havwe some fun in the sun. Oh. Better not forget the lotion”. Kankri really had thought of everything. Not only had he laid out swim towels and water diapers, but he’d left the bottle of little kids’ sunscreen lotion right there in easy view. Cronus pumped a little of the white liquid out and rubbed his hands together, making a thinner layer. He never took his eyes off Crokri, who lay on his back waving his legs in the air. “Don’t tell your mum I changed ya on the table. Kankri vwould kill me” he chuckled, knowing that Kankri would lecture him about changing Crokri on the ground for proper safety. Cronus reached out and started rubbing the oddly textured lotion into Crokri’s face and skin, getting whines and squirming from the 5 month old grub. Crokri’s tiny legs tried to push his dad’s hands and fingers away as he fussed, especially disliking it when Cronus used his fingertips to gently massage it into his ear fins. “Hey vwe gotta protect you from the sunburn. Believwe me, you’ll thank me later. Stay still baby, let me get your ears”. 

Crokri turned his head out of the way to protect his ear fins and let out a loud wail of protest, without tears but with plenty of feeling. “Yeah I knowv you hate it!” Cronus laughed a little and finally picked him up again. “Okay, all done! No need to shout the house dowvn. Let’s see howv that vwater’s goin” he spoke amicably to the baby and walked over onto the soft, short lawn where the inflatable waited. It was half full of water and still filling. Cronus knelt down by the side of it and tested the water with one hand. Deeming it to be safe temperature, he carefully lowered Crokri down to just above the water, watching his tiny feet and tail splash in it. Crokri got a look of delight and wonder on his face as he cooed and peeped, reaching for the water. He loved water of any kind and always got happy and excited about swimming and bath time. Cronus struggled to keep hold of him properly since the grub was now wriggling and fighting to get out of his grip and into the water, gills fluttering in anticipation. He laughed quietly and lowered him into the water before letting go, and watching him swim around. “There ya go” he drawled happily, easing into a more comfortable sitting position on the grass beside the play pool. Cronus remembered something and looked over at the table. He got up and grabbed the bag of toys and brought it back over to the side of the pool. “Hey Crokri!” he held up a brightly coloured pink rubber duck “Crokri, look!” he squeezed the duck, which squeaked twice. This got Crokri’s attention. The grub swam over and popped his head out of the water, reaching for the ducky with his two front legs “Ahh! Ahh!” 

“You vwant this? Catch!” Cronus chuckled and threw the toy into the pool a short distance away. Crokri let out a joyful squeak and turned to swim after it. He knew this game. It was popular fun at bath time. He grabbed the toy in his mouth and swam back towards Cronus with it triumphantly. 

“Ooh, vwell done” Cronus reached out and took the toy, then petted Crokri’s head, careful of his little blobby horns. They looked like they were trying to form the zigzag shapes of Cronus’ horns, but they were short and stubby like Kankri’s short nubs, which made them look endearingly ridiculous. Cronus threw the duck again and watched his son swim after it. The pool was so huge compared to the kitten sized grub. He grabbed another couple of toys and threw them in too, watching them land and float in the water. Crokri ‘caught’ each one and brought it back to him, getting praise and pets each time. He had to roll and guide the balls towards him since they were too round and slippery in the water for him to grasp with his teeth or stubby legs. Predictably, the entire bag of toys ended up in the water. Crokri loved swimming amongst the colourful toys. Cronus sat and just watched him, talking to and interacting with him for a while. He noticed the little ramps on the sides of the pool and picked up a ball “Crokri, vwatch this! Vwatch. Are you looking?” he waited till he had his attention, waving the toy in the air. Crokri chirped and swam closer, wide red eyes tracing the ball. Cronus smiled and dropped it onto one end of the sloping side rails. The air-filled ball neatly rolled down the yellow rails and plopped off the end into the pool. “Nowv you try” Cronus encouraged. Crokri swam to the ball and herded it back to the top end of the rail. He stopped beside it and whined. He couldn’t reach. 

“Oh” Cronus realised “Here, daddy help you” he moved to the rail and took the ball, dropping it onto it. The ball rolled down it. Crokri squeaked happily and swam after it, watching it plop off the end into the water “Ba ba ba!”

Cronus smiled at his attempts at words. “Vwery good. Yeah. Ball!” He looked around and noticed they hadn’t tried out the slide yet “Hey, vwanna try the slide? C’mon. Daddy help” he reached out his hands to Crokri and picked him up. Cronus pointed at the slide, and Crokri turned his head to look 

“Look! Slide!” Cronus said loud and cheerful. That got Crokri’s attention and he pointed at it too and copied the noise Cronus just made “Saiiiii!”

“Eh, close enough” Cronus laughed. Crokri was starting to say words and repeat a few familiar things but he had no proper grasp on language yet. Cronus took him to the top of the slide, bypassing the little steps and hand holds and setting him at the top of it carefully. “Ready? Daddy’s gonna let you go. One…tvwo…three….” He moved Crokri forwards and back in his hands each time, so the grub knew he was getting ready to let go “Goooo!” Cronus sang playfully, releasing his grub gently and watching Crokri slip down the slide on his belly with a squeal of “Eeeeee!”. The grub plopped off the end into the water with a tiny splash. He swam underwater like he’d taken a graceful dive, and came back up to the surface laughing. 

“Vwas that fun? Did you like that?” Cronus asked, moving and placing his hands in the water, palms open to receive Crokri “Vwanna go again? Come on. Vwanna slide?” 

“Da da da!” Crokri gabbled and swam up into his father’s hands. Cronus chuckled and picked him up again, putting him at the top of the slide and repeating the whole process. This game went on for quite a while. Eventually, Cronus took a break and let Crokri swim and play around freely in the water while he played around on his phone beside the pool. He removed the hose and turned it off since the pool had fully filled by now. For a grub the size of a three month old kitten, it was pretty deep and quite large. 

“Chirp!” Cronus was just checking Bubblr when there was a cute trill and he got hit with a jet of water that landed in his face. He spluttered and shook his head, wiping at the water with his hand as he lowered his phone. “Vwhat?! Vwhat vwas that? Oh…Crokri…” he started laughing. Crokri was sucking in mouthfuls of water then spitting them at his father in light little jets. Crokri spat at him again “Chirp!” 

Cronus chuckled “Vwell aren’t you a little mischief maker? Heh heh. So cute. That’s a newv trick isn’t it?” he sounded mildly impressed. Crokri swam in circles and then spit a jet at his face again. 

“All right. You vwanna vwater fight? You vwanna go? Look out, splash!” Cronus splashed a little bit of water at Crokri. The grub laughed in delight. He sucked in more water and spat it at Cronus, getting his shirt this time “Chirp!”

Their impromptu water fight continued for several minutes, Crokri squirting jets and Cronus gently splashing or squirting jets back using his hand and a squeezing motion. Eventually the grub got tired and slowly swam off to have a rest. Crokri climbed up into a little three walled area of the play pool that was raised up out of the water. Tiny, weak sprinkles of water came out of the bottom sides of the walls. Crokri lay down with a big sigh and rested quietly. Cronus made a noise of endearment “Awwv, baby, are you all tuckered out?” he smiled “Kay. You rest. Daddy’s gonna stay here and vwatch you” he said, going back to playing on his phone, liking Bubblr posts and watching videos. He glanced up at Crokri every so often. After about five minutes passed, a blur of movement caught his eye. Crokri squeaked and giggled with joy. He had figured out that the spongy floor of the resting platform was in fact a mini jumping castle. He couldn’t bounce very high but he loved it anyway, bouncing off the walls, and all over the floor, kept cool by the sprinkles of water. Cronus laughed a bit. “I think you’re keepin me entertained more than me entertainin’ you” he put his phone down and dipped his hand in the water, swishing it around. “Hmm, it’s nice and cool. Kinda vwish I could go svwimmin too but vwe can’t afford a pool yet” he sighed. “Geez it’s hot out here” Cronus’ ear fins flapped as though trying to cool him down. He splashed a little water on himself, then grabbed the hose and turned the nozzle back on. Cronus drenched himself with water, sighing happily. He felt much cooler now, with the light summer breeze blowing on his wet skin and clothes. 

The sea dweller let Crokri play until lunch time, a good three hours’ worth of play in his new pool play centre. This didn’t seem to make any difference when it came time to get Crokri out and have lunch. Cronus called Crokri over to him and the grub curiously and obediently swam over to the side. Cronus reached in and picked up the grub in both hands, lifting him out of the water “Come on lil guy, let’s get some lunch. You needa replace all that energy you burned off” he said. 

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Crokri reached for the water and whined “Ahhh! Agaaah!” he babbled, making his thoughts on that proposal clear. Cronus shook his head “No honey, come on, you’vwe already had ages in the pool. It’s time to go inside” 

Crokri whined and started crying, wriggling in Cronus’ arms, straining his entire body towards the water “Wawa…wawa!” he cried, making loud ‘waaaaaaah’ sounds and similar sounds as he cried. 

“No. No means no. Vwe’re havwin’ lunch” Cronus said firmly but kindly. He was careful not to drop him, having to shift his arms and hands to make sure the grub didn’t struggle out of his grasp and fall to the ground. He went over to the table and laid Crokri on the towel that Kankri had left out. He dried him off, which was hard when the grub was crying loudly and flailing all his legs, trying to roll or crawl away. 

Cronus checked the swim diaper and deduced there were no poop surprises, so he took it off and picked up the normal disposable one that he’d taken off earlier. He had to be quick as Crokri flipped onto his front and tried to crawl away. “Vwhoop!” Cronus quickly grabbed the grub before he could fall off the edge of the table “You’re not getting avway this time” he chuckled. “Come on, vwe gotta get your diaper back on” He laid him down on his back again and struggled to get the diaper taped back into place. Crokri cried harder and louder and his face started to turn red. Cronus finished sticking down the last tape. He picked up Crokri and hugged him close to his chest before he turned to carry him inside, opening the sliding glass door and stepping back into the blissfully cool house. Cronus’ clothes were damp but he wasn’t dripping wet. 

Crokri was having a full blown tantrum. Cronus thought it reminded him of Kankri sometimes, especially when he’d been pregnant and having mood swings. He snickered, then winced at the volume of the grub screaming and sobbing in his ear. There had to be some way to get him to calm down. Kankri was so good at it. Cronus didn’t know what to do. He patted Crokri’s back and made soothing noises as he paced back and forth with him, but the grub persisted in crying. The cries got a bit weaker after a few minutes and Cronus went to put Crokri into his tiny high chair seat that was attached to the side of the table. He buckled him in with the safety restraints. Crokri’s cries escalated again.  
“Vwhat? Are you hungry? Let’s get you some nummy food. Mummy made it especially for you” he cooed, trying to calm Crokri down. Cronus got out the jar of home made grub food from the fridge and heated it in the microwave in Crokri’s cartoon character bowl. He stirred it and tested the temperature. He then sat down in a kitchen chair and tried to feed his screaming and wailing infant. It went about as well as a train wreck. Crokri turned his head away from the tiny spoon, or tried to push and hit the spoon away with his legs. Food got smeared everywhere and dropped onto the highchair tray. Cronus did manage to get a few spoonfuls in, only for the grub to spit it all back out down his chin and front, and then rub at his face with his legs. Cronus realised he’d forgotten to put a bib on him, which Kankri always did when feeding him “Shit, I forgot your bib. Damn it…this isn’t vworking” he set the food aside and went to get a facecloth, wet it under the kitchen tap and went over to wipe Crokri up. Crokri hated being wiped clean and of course cried even more about it. 

Cronus felt like he had failed in some way. Like he was doing something wrong. But he wasn’t ready to admit defeat. His child needed food for energy. He wasn’t going to let him go hungry. Crokri was fussy with his food as it is. Cronus had an idea. He grinned. “Hey baby, Crokri…howv about ice cream? You vwant ice cream?” he sang out. He opened the small freezer compartment at the top of the fridge and took out the container of Neapolitan. He served some into another plastic cartoon bowl and brought it over. “Look vwhat I got. Mmm…” he spooned up some and tried to get it in Crokri’s mouth. It went in successfully. The grub abruptly stopped crying and flinched, his eyes going wide as saucers. He chewed experimentally and then swallowed, making little sounds. “See? Niiice” Cronus smiled. Yeah, this was gonna work. “Here, vwant more?” he spooned another tiny bite into Crokri’s mouth. The grub nommed it down with a little coo. Cronus chuckled “Don’t tell your mother about this. It’s our little secret, kay?” He continued feeding him the ice cream with great success. 

Cronus knew he’d be in trouble for taking the easy way out and feeding their son ice cream for lunch. But Kankri wasn’t here to see it and Cronus was more concerned about getting something in his tummy. It didn’t matter what it was, just that it was something. Crokri ended up polishing off two whole bowls of ice cream, much to his father’s delight. Cronus ate two bigger bowls for himself. Cronus cleaned him up and took him out of the high chair. Now it was nap time. Crokri always had a grubnap in the middle of the day right after lunch. Kankri was good at getting the fussy little critter down for his nap. And depending on the situation, Cronus was too. Especially when he sang his child to sleep. Crokri loved being sung to. He spent some time settling Crokri for his nap, cuddling him, patting his back gently and singing a song to him softly as he paced the living room and hallway. Eventually the grub went limp and heavy in Cronus’ arms and he heard the soft, tiny breaths of the sleeping baby. He smiled. Works every time. Cronus carefully moved into Crokri’s room and ever so carefully and slowly lowered him into the crib. Crokri stirred and made a few squeaks and chirrs. Cronus had a moment of panic and froze, reaching over to rub Crokri’s belly in a soothing motion. Crokri clicked and settled back to sleep with a soft sleepy chirp. Cronus released a held breath. He tiptoed out of the room as quietly as possible and closed the door, which had a fabric piece on it that muffled the closing latch. He waited outside the door, listening. All was quiet. Cronus relaxed as he walked away back to the living room and got on the shared computer to have some fun. He watched videos on YouTube and some anime on other sites, checked his emails and played games. Losing track of time, he was startled when his phone rang. He picked it up and heard Kankri, calling to check on them both. “Oh, heya Kanny, howv’s it going at vwork? You on your lunch break?” 

“Yes. I am. Work’s going okay. I am rather enjoying myself, actually. It’s been busy today. We had some foreign exchange students just before lunch, and of course, lots of people come in looking for resources and information so I’ve been busy helping them find what they need. Oh, and covering and cataloguing the new books we received this morning. How’s Crokri? Did he eat his lunch? Speaking of lunch, I’m quite pleased with myself for this lunch box I made up last night. A salad wrap and some fruit and dark chocolate. Combined with exercise, I’m feeling better about myself and I notice that I’ve lost more weight” 

“Awv, that’s real svwell babe. I’m happy for ya. Glad you’re feelin’ good about yourself and taking care of yourself. It’s real nice you’re enjoying the vwork too. As for Crokri, ha ha let me tell you…” Cronus explained his morning to him, leaving out the part about the ice cream. “He’s been dowvn for about an hour and a half nowv. He really needed time to let his batteries recharge, but he vwasn’t happy about it at all. He really lovwes that pool” he chuckled.

“Well, that’s to be expected when you have a water baby” Kankri answered, a smile in his voice. “We already know he loves the water, thanks to you. I’m glad he’s having a proper sleep though; it throws his whole routine out of whack when he misses his nap. It’s Porrim’s turn to have him this weekend so we might be able to get a sleep in on Saturday and maybe do something together. I was thinking since it’s so hot, we could go to the local pool, or the beach. Depends which one is less crowded” 

“Ooh, sounds good babe. I’d be dowvn for a beach trip, for sure. And vwhen vwe get back vwe can vwatch some flicks and cuddle on the couch or…vwhatevwer” 

Kankri chuckled at the clearly suggestive implications of that word. “Movies and ‘whatever’, sounds good to me. I’ll look forward to it. I could use the stress relief. Anyway I have to get back to work. Give Crokri a kiss from me when he wakes up. And here’s one for you as well” he made a kissing noise through the phone and Cronus chuckled softly and returned it “Lovwe you too, Cherry. Havwe fun. I’ll see you vwhen you get home” 

Once Kankri hung up, Cronus went back to playing on the computer until roughly half an hour later, when the expected sounds of hi s son’s crying alerted him to the fact that Crokri was awake. Taking his cue, Cronus got up to go get him. He walked down the hallway and opened the door, swinging it open silently to reveal the baby’s colourful nursery. Crokri’s crying was normal instead of a tantrum, and Cronus happily leaned down and picked him up. “Heyyyy little guy. Feeling better after your nap?” he smiled. 

“Squeak!” The grub reached out to him and whined, little tears at the corners of his eyes. He looked adorable with his tousled bed hair. His voice still sounded a little sleepy.  
Cronus hugged him close, then sniffed the air and made a face, holding him away from him and looking at his sagging diaper that was stained red and brown. The little pictures of crabs printed on it had faded. 

“Vwhewv, smells like someone has a dirty diaper. Let’s get that changed” He carried him to the changing table and laid him down on it, securing him with the straps then un-taping the diaper tabs and opening the front. Cronus grabbed the wipes and started cleaning him up, “Vwell I knowv vwhy you didn’t havwe any poop in there earlier, you vwere savwing it up for nowv, huh? You made a big mess. Gotta say, considering your size, that’s impressivwe” he chuckled and finished cleaning him up in a matter of minutes, expertly rolling and taping the diaper into a ball and throwing it away in the special pail that reduced odours. After changing so many, he and Kankri were now both adept at it.  
Crokri wiggled his body and legs, enjoying the fresh air on his tush. He wiggled and squeaked happily, clearly feeling better. 

Cronus tickled his belly and laughed. “Vwho’s a cute little guppy? You are! Yeah~…Here ya go, bums up” he slid a new crabby diaper under the red grub’s butt, slipping his tail through the slit in the back. He reached for the anti-rash cream, rubbing in a small amount before adding a sprinkle of zinc based baby powder. He brought the diaper front up and taped it in place with the sticky tapes on either side, giving the front a little pat once he was done “There nowv. You’re all clean and ready to go” Cronus put everything back in its place. He cleaned his hands with some hand sanitiser then unstrapped the safety belt from Crokri and picked him up happily, cuddling him close again. Crokri clung on contently and looked around. 

Cronus patted him softly. “Let’s get you a little snack. You’re probably hungry” He carried him into the living room and placed him down in his playpen with toys before walking to the kitchen to rummage up a quick snack. Cronus tried to pick something healthy to make up for the extra sweet lunch. Crokri needed some proper food, not just sugar. Cronus chose finger foods, chopping up tiny squares of wholemeal bread, cheese sticks, apple sticks, some little cheesy crackers and some carrot sticks. He brought the food in to Crokri and climbed into the playpen with him to sit on the floor. Cronus put the plate of snacks down and it didn’t take long for the red grub to crawl over and take a look. 

Crokri sniffed the different foods, then grabbed a grub cracker and started nibbling on it, spilling crumbs. He didn’t have all his teeth yet but he had enough to chew things up.  
Cronus watched him contently, a smile playing on his lips. He reached over and gently tried fingercombing the grub’s hair. Crokri growled softly and shook him off as he backed away, holding the cracker in his mouth. His ear fins flared in a threat display. 

Cronus laughed “All right, all right. Fine. I vwas just trying to help. Keep your bed hair!” He took his phone out of his pocket and waited for Crokri to come back to the Disney themed plastic plate. 

Sure enough, Crokri got curious as to what the other foods tasted like and dropped his soggy, half eaten cracker on the carpet to crawl back up and try some more things. He picked up a cheese bit and took a little bite, chewing oddly as the texture was new to him. 

Cronus snapped a few pictures of Crokri trying different foods and sent them to Kankri. Once Crokri had finished his snack and made a nice little mess on the carpet and plate, Cronus took the plate into the kitchen and left it on the counter, also leaving the crumbs and spilled bits on the floor. He came back into the lounge room to find Crokri happily entertained by various baby toys and grub toys. 

Crokri climbed on the grub play gym, wandering around through tunnels, across bridges and down slides or playing with the interactive parts. He then chased balls with colourful liquid and toys, or beads or spinners inside them. He pressed buttons on the My First Lusus wheel and chewed on the rubbery plastic teething keys. He rolled around in the soft toys and pressed buttons on the interactive board book. He had a lot of toys, probably from being spoiled by everyone. Grub toys were a bit different from wiggler toys or toddler toys. They tended to be lower down to the floor, and since grubs didn’t have opposable thumbs, or even fingers, usually consisted of things easy to use with grub legs and mouths. 

Cronus made himself a snack, (a sandwich and a glass of water), and sat on the couch to watch TV while keeping an eye on his kid. He finished his snack while paying attention to the ‘real ghosts caught on film!!!’ TV show, which filmed the audience’s reactions to each scary ghost video. 

Crokri could only stay entertained for so long though, and soon started making trills, squeaks, and other little noises to get his dad’s attention. Cronus looked in his direction and saw Crokri standing at the side of the playpen, holding the bars. He was wearing a pleading expression that begged ‘let me out!’. His big round candy red eyes were irresistible.

“Awww~” Even though he really wanted to watch the rest of his TV show, hey couldn’t say no to that. Cronus got up with a groan. “You vwant out? Okay baby. Come here” He walked over and leaned down into the pen, scooping him up easily. Cronus cradled him in his arms and tickled his belly. “Vwhat do you vwant, huh? You vwanna play vwith daddy?” 

Crokri squirmed and uttered delightful baby giggles in response to being tickled. He looked up at his dad and reached out for his violet earfins “aba aba ba, guuu…!” he babbled the little language he knew and Cronus grinned down at his son. 

“Is that so?! You sure got a lot to say for a little shrimp. You vwanna do something fun? I got a great idea” Cronus held Crokri in one arm and used his free hand to pull the cushions off the couch and toss them on the floor. He grabbed the blanket that was folded at the back of the couch and shook it out so it lay flat. He then put Crokri on the blanket. “Ready to go for a ride? Vwheeeee!” Cronus laughed and jogged away, pulling the blanket along the ground, around the cushions and furniture which were used as obstacles. 

“Chirp!” Crokri almost rolled off and had to grip on with his little legs but he enjoyed being tugged around. He giggled and squealed in delight and babbled even more. When Cronus got tired of that game and needed a breather since he got puffed, they instead played a bunch of other games. Cronus made a fort for them to play in with blankets and cushions. Then he threw toys everywhere which Crokri could fetch and bring back upon being prompted. Then they played hide n seek. Then Cronus put on a baby cartoon and danced to the songs and actions together with the grub. 

Kankri had insisted to keep things educational when playing with their baby, so Cronus also tried reading books and doing flash cards with the grub as well. When that finished, he took Crokri into the kitchen and laid out some paper on the floor. He got out the poster paints and filled a little tray with them then helped Crokri dip his front legs into the paint and make marks on the paper. Colourful scribbles decorated the paper, and Crokri, and the floor and walls. Cronus stuck the works of art to the walls with blu tack. Wet paint dripped down the walls. Basically with all the games they played, the house was now a mess. But the grub still had plenty of energy to burn and needed entertainment!  
Cronus was trying to think of what else they could do when Crokri noticed the view of the back garden and scurried over to the sliding glass doors. He stood on his hindquarters and put his paint wet legs on the window. “Auuuu! Wawa!” He banged his front legs on the glass enthusiastically, smearing more paint on it and babbling. “Wa wa! Wa-wa. Wa waaaaa!” 

Cronus walked over “Oh, you vwanna go outside. Yeah, sure, vwe can do that! Let’s go play in the garden. You vwanna help me vwater the flowvers? Or should vwe play on the svwings?” He picked up his son and took him outside, placing him down on the warm, green grass. Crokri ignored his toy balls and his outdoor play gym. He ignored the swing set and the slide. He ignored the obstacle course and the mini maze. No, instead he headed straight for the pool! Crokri hurried to the side and jumped up and down, trying to find a way to climb in. “Squeak! Chirp! Peep!” 

Cronus laughed and shook his head “Ahhh, I should havwe knovwn. Vwater! Yep, okay, you can go back in. Come here so I can get your svwim diaper on~” he sang. He hurriedly picked his son up, causing Crokri to whine loudly and reach for the water, struggling to get out of his father’s hold. 

“Hang on, hang on. You can’t vwear a normal diapee in the pool honey. Hold still for a second vwhile I get this one on” Cronus said, trying to be patient with the impatient, squirmy baby. He took off the new ‘old’ diaper and put the swim diaper on, making sure Crokri’s finned tail was popped neatly through the slit in the back. He then rubbed on some more sunscreen into Crokri’s body and face. Crokri fussed and cried, making it difficult, but Cronus worked fast and soon he was done. He carried the grub to the pool and held him over the water. Crokri stopped crying and looked at the water in excitement, reaching out for it as red tear tracks glistened on his face. His gills fluttered, his earfins fluttered, and his legs paddled at the air cutely in swimming motions. “Squeeeeee!” he wanted in! 

Cronus couldn’t help laughing. He put him in the pool and let go, watching Crokri take off and swim gleefully around in the pool. The water was warmer than before since it had been outside in the heat, but it was half under the patio shade so it was okay. Cronus doused himself with the hose again to try and keep cool, and played with his son in the pool play centre. He filmed Crokri playing and uploaded it to Bubblr. 

He heard Kankri come home several hours later, hearing his keys unlocking the front door. Kankri’s voice could be heard as he walked down the hallway and into the living room. “Oh my word! What’s happened here? The whole house is a complete mess” he exclaimed. Footsteps came through the kitchen and a handbag was deposited on the kitchen bench, keys hung up on the key hook hanger. 

Kankri’s voice sounded out again. “Oh no, there’s ants all over the kitchen bench. Who left out this food? And there’s crumbs everywhere. Ahh why are there so many ants?” Sounds of water running and things being cleaned up and food thrown in the bin were heard. Then Kankri noticed the walls and floor “Cronus, this better be water soluble paint or you can pay for the new paint job!” he yelled out. He noticed Cronus and Crokri outside and went out the back door. 

“Here you two are. Cronus, why is the house in such a state? You know we teach Crokri to clean up after playing with his toys or making a mess. I’m glad you two have been having fun but you better not expect me to clean all that up. There’s ants everywhere in the kitchen, the sink is full of dishes, Crokri’s high chair is messy. I noticed there was food mushed into the carpet in the living room. There’s paint smeared everywhere in the kitchen. And Crokri’s room smells like dirty diapers. Did you empty the diaper pail today? It’s full and the bins go out tomorrow” 

“Nice to see you too, Chief. Howv vwas your day?” Cronus replied somewhat sarcastically, a bit annoyed that Kankri wanted to complain before even greeting him. “Yeah, listen, I’m sorry about all that but I vwas just spending time vwith the little guy. I vwasn’t thinking about havwing a perfect clean house. Making sure he’s havwin fun and spending quality time vwith him is far more important in my vweiwv. Vwhy vwaste time vworryin about cleaning up vwhen you could be spendin’ it making memories that last? The house vwork’s alvways gonna be here, but grubs growv up fast” 

Kankri sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He closed his eyes a moment and sighed again, evidently trying to keep his cool. He dropped his hand and looked back at Cronus, before shaking his head “Well…it looks like you and I have differing opinions. But you do make some very good points. I’m sorry Cronus, how was your day? ” he asked more genuinely. He walked over and hugged him “I missed you both at work today. And I’m glad you both have been and are still, having fun” 

Cronus slipped his arms around Kankri’s waist and pulled him closer, kissing him fondly “Our day vwas good babe. Really svwell” he kissed him again and squeezed him lovingly “Vwe missed you too. Crokri painted you some art vworks. And vwe did the flash cards” he nuzzled him. “I’m glad you’re back. My pretty cherry” 

Kankri hummed happily, breathing in his mate’s scent “I saw. And thank you for practicing the flash cards, it all goes towards his education” he purred, letting out a soft, pleased sound at the pet name and attention “I’m always happy to come back to you. Today was fun, but it’s nice to be home with my two favourite people in the world” 

There was a splash and some excited grub noises. Crokri had noticed Kankri was back. He chirped and trilled, then clicked eagerly, swimming around trying to find a way to hop out of the pool. 

Kankri let go of Cronus and moved out of their embrace. He hurried to the side and scooped Crokri up into a loving hug, not caring that his clothes were getting wet. “Ohhh my little cutie pie! Mummy’s so happy to see you! Did you have fun in your new pool? You look like you had a wonderful day, mwah, mwah!” he kissed him playfully with exaggerated kissing sounds, while the grub squirmed and giggled, laughing in delight. Crokri cuddled close and nuzzled Kankri’s chest, sighing contentedly as he purred and snuggled. His little fins did a happy flutter. Kankri smiled warmly down at him before looking at Cronus again. 

“You’re still going to clean up the house” Kankri replied, cheerful and smiling. “We can’t have Crokri exposed to germs, insects, or tripping hazards. And besides, it is possible to clean up one activity while Crokri is distracted with another. That’s how I do it. So, we’re going to play outside and water the flowers, while you make everything nice and tidy again. By the way, if you ever feed him ice cream for lunch again, I’m going to tie you up and force feed you ice cream. Got that?” he beamed. 

Cronus’ mouth dropped open “Vwhat? But I didn’t- ! Howv did you-!?” How did he know? How? This made no sense. “Kankriiii” Cronus whined. 

Kankri turned back to Crokri, ignoring Cronus’ protests with a wicked grin. “After all, I’d much rather spend time playing with our cute baby than doing the housework. Grubs grow up so fast~” he sang. 

Cronus opened and closed his mouth, trying to argue, but coming up with nothing. Scowling and grumbling, he shuffled off into the house in his damp clothes to tidy and clean. Some things just weren’t worth arguing about. Maybe on their next Daddy Day he’d take him out to the park to play. He started to smile as he cleaned up though. Knowing he was Kankri’s favourite person in the world, and Crokri’s too, made up for a bit of housework. He wondered what being tied up and force fed ice cream would be like.


End file.
